"The DCCC will not be investing additional resources in the HI-01 (Abercrombie-open) special election," said DCCC spokesman Jennifer Crider in a statement. "Local Democrats were unable to work out their differences. The DCCC will save the resources we would have invested in the Hawaii special election this month for the general election in November."

The DCCC's move is monumental because it shows the party believes there is no path to victory in the first special election of this cycle, in which Democrats already boasted two wins for House seats in New York in 2009. What's more, the DCCC went off of Hawaii television two weeks after the ballots were mailed out for the special election and just less than two weeks to go until the ballots are due.

The DCCC had already put more than $300K into the race, and Obama had contributed a robocall, which illustrated the party's bind when it didn't specify which Democrat the president needed a vote for.